MARQUETTE, Mich. - The Northern Michigan University football team is back home for the final time this season as the Wildcats will host No. 2 Ferris State on Saturday, November 2 at 1 p.m.

The Wildcats (0-8, 0-4) fell last week at Michigan Tech 39-9 while the Bulldogs got a signature road win at No. 1 Grand Valley State, 34-7. 

Senior Day recognition will take place before the game. 


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Follow @NMU_Football and @NMU_Wildcats on X (formerly known as Twitter) for updates leading up to and during the game.

Saturday, November 2 - vs. Ferris State at 1 p.m.
    - Senior Day
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A Word from Shane Richardson
"We have to make sure we don't allow the disappointment from Tech to carry over too long and also at the same time looking at Ferris and not blowing them way bigger than what they are either. They're a good team, but we have to stay focused on what we can correct and address the mistakes we made last Saturday."



Last Time Out
Northern Michigan was in Houghton last weekend, falling to Michigan Tech in the Miner's Cup game, 39-9. 

Northern's touchdown came late in the fourth quarter on a 33-yard run from Tucker Welch, the longest rush of his career. Mike Karlen also added a 31-yard field goal in the second quarter to complete the scoring for NMU. 

NMU totaled 210 yards with 123 of those coming on the ground. The Wildcat defense forced three turnovers on the afternoon including multiple interceptions for the first time this season. Jacquille Brown got in the passing lane for his first of the season while Kade Manzo picked off his team-leading second of the season.   


Cat Nips

• The Green and Gold field one of the youngest teams in the nation, with 42 of 96 (43.8%) of the roster consisting of first-year players. Underclassmen makeup 68 of the 96 (70.8%) roster spots.
• Adam Saleh has vaulted up the GLIAC tackles leaderboard, as his 56 tackles this season currently rank 4th, while his 40 solo tackles lead the league. He has recorded at least five total tackles in each game this season. 
• NMU is tied for the conference lead with eight forced fumbles. 
• Freshman Jahi Wood (428) is 6th in the conference in rushing while Elizin Rouse (228), Nico Lukkarienen (223), and Vince Martin (214), and rank 15th-17th respectively. Lukkarinen's 3 TD runs rank in the top-10 in the conference. The Wildcats have the 4th best rushing attack in the league at 152.3 yards/game.
• Michael Love is tied for 4th in the conference with 4 TD catches this season. His two touchdown catches against UW-La Crosse marked the first time a Wildcat receiver found the endzone twice in a game since September 24, 2022 when Wyatt Davis went for two scores on Homecoming in a 42-14 win over Post. He is 7th in the GLIAC with 351 receiving yards.
• NMU's 269 yards on the ground at UW-La Crosse earlier this year marked its best ground effort since the 2018 season. 
• Michael Karlen is a perfect 7-7 on FG's and 13-14 on PAT's this season. 

A Look at Ferris State
The Bulldogs are coming off of a big road win in the Anchor-Bone Classic, defeating No. 1 Grand Valley State 34-7. The Bulldogs are now No. 2 in the national poll with a 7-1, 4-0 record. 

Ferris State has been one of the best across several categories this season. Nationally, the Bulldogs rank third in total offense (499.0), scoring offense (44.1), and total defense (214.6). Dual-threat quarterback Trinidad Chambliss paces the GLIAC with 10 rushing scores on 471 rushing yards while tied for first with 17 passing TD's and second through the air with 1,763 yards. 

The Bulldogs lead the league with 13 interceptions and five fumble recoveries for 13 takeaways. Jalen Jones is atop the conference leaderboard with four interceptions.